My GE Dishwasher Door Is Locked and Stuck Closed

Child Lockout

• The child lockout feature on many GE dishwashers is designed to keep children from being able to open the door or program the dishwasher. To release the lock, press the “Lock” key pad twice. This key pad is located above the “China-Crystal” or “Normal Soil” key pads on the control panel on some models. On other models without a Lock key pad, press twice on the "Normal-Soil" key pad. The lock light will go out.

Cycle Progress

• Some dishwashers have a rotary dial that slowly rotates as the cycle progresses and the door remains locked during this process. The timer dial will continue to turn until pointing at the “Off” position, which indicates that the dishwasher is complete and the door is safe to open. Temperatures in the dishwasher are too hot to access while the door remains locked and the timer cycle is still turning, which may take longer if an energy saving cycle has been selected. Do not force open the door until the timer is pointing to “Off.”

Reset

• If the dishwasher door remains locked, start a new wash cycle and allow the complete cycle to finish, as the door may stay locked if a cycle is interrupted and not restarted. If the cycle is complete and the dishwasher has cooled properly but the door remains locked and stuck closed, try a power reset. Disconnect power to the dishwasher and wait 30 seconds. Restore power and try to open the dishwasher door.

Repair Needed

• If the door remains stuck after you have started a new wash cycle and allowed the washer to finish the cycle and cool down and have performed a reset, service might be needed. The door switch assembly may need to be reset or the control board replaced. As this requires disassembly of the dishwasher to access the door switch or control board, this is a task best left to professionals. Contact GE for assistance.